Objective: To examine the association between nutrient adequacy and dietary diversity, and to assess and compare the determinants for the two constructs in an adult population in rural Mali.
Design: Cross-sectional study assessing food intake by a validated 7-day quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Two different dietary diversity indexes were created: food variety score (FVS), a simple count of food items, and diet diversity score (DDS) a count of food groups. Mean adequacy ratio, the mean ratio of intake to recommended intake (each truncated at one) of energy and nine nutrients, was calculated as an indicator of nutrient adequacy. Information on household and individual characteristics, including demography, socioeconomic conditions and food production strategies was obtained using precoded questionnaires.
Setting: Bafoulabé district, Kayes region, Western Mali.
Subjects: In total, 502 subjects (55% women) aged 15-45 y from 319 different households.
Results: Both FVS and DDS had a positive correlation with mean adequacy ratio (MAR). Multivariate analysis (linear regression) showed that the most important factors explaining MAR was the number of milk products, vegetables and green leaves consumed, as well as sex and the number of crops produced in the household. Dietary diversity was associated with socioeconomic status, residence and age.
Conclusion: Dietary diversity is useful as an indicator of nutrient adequacy. It is important to examine how various food groups contribute to the nutrient adequacy of the diet in an area.